Tag Archives: cleaning

So my 1 year olds feet stink. I mean like grown man foot stink. It’s bad. Part of the problem is his unconditional love for these smelly old crocs we picked up at a yard sale for $1. Yeah, probably a bad idea. But at this point he has fallen madly in love with them, and hasn’t taken them off for the past 3 months. So I can’t take them away now. Yes he even sleeps in them.

These shoes will likely only fit him for another 42 minutes so I’m not really sure why I’m even bothering with them. But I have a feeling he is going to try to squish his chubby little toes into them for as long as possible.

So deodorizing and trying to kill some of the stink was a priority.

Step 1

Place the shoes in direct sunlight to let them completely dry out. Important because the wetness is what is causing the stinky bacteria growth.

Step 2

Pour about 1/4 cup of baking soda inside shoes. Baking soda will absorb the pungent shoe odor, just like it does in your fridge. Make sure the entire inside of the shoe is covered.

Step 3

Let the baking soda do it’s job and absorb the moisture and sweat. The baking soda will even turn slightly brownish when it absorbs all the sweat and dirt. Yuck!

Step 4

Rubbing alcohol works great in getting rid of smelly shoe odor. Just pour about 1/2 cut of rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle and mist the inside of the shoes with it. Let it sit for an hour or so.

Step 5

Wash in the washing machine with hot water. Once washed place in dryer and/or leave out in sun to dry completely.

I recently was given a tour of my neighbour’s home. I was shocked that even though she didn’t expect to have me over, let alone give me a full tour of her house, her house was immaculate. I’m talking every bed was made with loads of fluffy pillows, all toys were neatly placed in labelled bins, not a single dirty dish on the counter, and no heaps of laundry in the laundry room. It was truly shocking. I realize that not everyone lives like this, but my neighbour does so I guess it’s possible.

Since having kids my house has become a chaotic mess. I was never a super organized neat freak or anything. But I just can’t seem to keep on top of things now.

My goal over the next few months is to organize every space in my house. A huge goal, yes. But only focusing on one space at a time will make it manageable.

The fridge and freezer were the perfect place to start. Our fridge drives my crazy. It’s a daily occurrence to go in, pull one thing out, and have 10 frozen chicken breasts land on my toes. It’s always a disaster.

Honestly I never know what’s in there. Jars and bottles get lost at the back and it’s months before I see them again. Sound familiar?

I was inspired by the fridge organization over at Good-Bye House Hello Home. So I went out and bought these super awesome plastic bins with handles from Wal-Mart for $2.50 each (they were in the wrong spot so not really $1.57). But still a great deal. I love the handles. Makes it super easy to pull out.

After a serious fridge clear-out, I divided foods into categories. And put similar things together in each bin. For example one bin has all condiments in it, so it’s easy to grab the whole bin at once.

I’ll let you know in a few months if this system is easier to keep clean and organized or not, but right now I’m loving it.

A post on freezer organization will be coming shortly. But I didn’t buy enough bins at Wal-Mart so now need to make a second trip. And since shopping at Wal-Mart is pretty much my least favourite thing in the world, this post may take awhile!